To Marry For Love Or Moneyâ€¦

We’ve all seen ‘em in our communities. The girl who marries not for love, nor companionship, nor even looks for that matter. It’s the woman who marries for money. Hello, Anna Nicole Smith?

Anna Nicole Smith & oil billionaire husband J. Howard Marshall

Now yes, you are correct, men do this as well. We all know that.

But if you would marry for money, my friends, you are not alone. A popular female survey yielded the astonishing result that one quarter of educated urban women, earning above a certain income, would marry for money.

Really? Am I being terribly naive?

People have been marrying for money since the beginning of time. And let’s not kid ourselves. Marrying a man who will take care of you financially and shower you with many luxurious comforts feels quite nice.

I was actually hoping this Blog post could be written by a Guest Blogger instead of myself. I thought it would be honest and true if it were told first person, but I couldn’t find anyone to admit they had married for money.

So, first, a cute story. My husband and I were out for dinner with another couple a few years ago, and the husband whispered to us, “You want to see the wealthiest man in the world? Look over there!” So naturally we looked over, expecting to see Bill Gates in for a visit, dining at one our fabulous Montreal restaurants. Nope. Instead, we saw this drop dead gorgeous woman, probably in her late twenties, long gorgeous legs, thick luscious hair to match those lips, and a cleavage that you just couldn’t ignore. Now, we expected her date to be an equally hot, Adonis-type male to match her. Nope again. It was an 80-plus year old man, drooling at those breasts, and kissing her hand (that was sporting a humongous diamond ring by the way). Ew, I thought! Now I’m not saying that was the case, but imagine living with someone you had nothing in common with and weren’t really attracted to?

But before you so decide to judge these women for being shallow and gold-digging, how is marrying for money any different than marrying for looks or other things? I once had the biggest crush on and briefly dated the HOTTEST guy, who just so happened to have come from an uber wealthy family as well (we’re talking planes, trains and automobiles wealthy). I was way more attracted to his gorgeousness and beautiful face than his money, but whatever. Anyhow, this guy turned out to be a total schmuck. Arrogant, narcissistic, and more. OK, when I closed my eyes for the next 6 months, did I see his face in my head? Yes. But no amount of money, nor looks could get me past that personality.

So now, I would like to present a real case of marrying for money and perhaps put you on the fence for a moment. I know a girl who grew up without financial means. There was not an abundance of food or clothing, and resources were scarcely available for her and her family to share. When it came time to choose a mate, she chose “wisely” for herself. She didn’t choose for friendship. She didn’t even choose for looks. She chose for money, for security, and for a better life than she had experienced growing up. And she would admit, poverty haunted her, and she wanted away from that lifestyle, at any cost. Now of course, a few kids later, and still married, it’s not like she married an eighty year, and someone completely dumb and uninteresting. But he is boring, and he is sort of like a dead fish. However, he gives her stability and even times friendship, and she is not going anywhere fast. So you could argue, her marrying for money was not about gold-digging, it was about survival.

I look at my parents today. Married 37 years. They truly have a remarkable marriage. Love, respect and a deep FRIENDSHIP. Granted, no one’s perfect all the time, and frankly, I’m not quite sure how much sex they still have (sorry, mom), but here is an example of marrying for love. In this case, it was my MOM who came from a well-off family. My dad grew up lacking many resources and worked hard juggling MBA school and a job to help his parents out financially. He had very little to offer my mom monetarily back then, but she fell head over heels in love. He wooed her with his personality, with his charm, with his goodness. And so, today, they no longer struggle, but she married my dad for every right reason in this world. And she loves and respects him deeply still.

NOT mom and dad.

So, I ask you again, just as I did yesterday, about judgment. Do we have the right to judge someone who marries for money? Do we know what their motives were? Where are we so different if the opportunity presented itself?

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About womenonthefence

Erica Diamond is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WomenOnTheFence.com, Entrepreneur, Author, Blogger, Speaker, Radio Correspondent, and Spokesperson. After enjoying seven years of great financial success with her Company, Erica sold her business in 2006 to Canada's Largest Bag Retail Chain. Her business journey along the way has awarded her a Young Entrepreneur Award, Top 30 under 30 Entrepreneur Award, Top 40 under 40 Entrepreneur Award nomination, among numerous others, and finally, The Profit Hot 50 Award - One of Canada's 50 Emerging Growth Companies. Erica Diamond is the author of the new release, The 99 Things Women Wish They Knew... Before Starting Their Own Business, endorsed by names such as Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York and Brooke Burke, and Suzy Welch. Women on the Fence was recently named FORBES TOP 100 SITES FOR WOMEN. Erica Diamond has been named 25 Best Twitter Feeds For Women, 50 Best Blogs By Women, and was recently named to the coveted list of THE TOP 20 WOMEN IN CANADA.